For the Love of a Human
by whitetiger91
Summary: Wizards and Mermaids were meant to fall apart, not in love. So why won't Araxie's heart slow down? Written for the DAII forum's Fairytale Challenge.
1. Chapter 1

**For the Love of a Human**

 _ **A/N: All characters and themes you recognise belong to the incredible JK Rowling; no profit will be made from this story.**_

 _ **This fic (of three parts) was written for the DAII forum's Fairytale Challenge. The classic fairytale prompt I chose this time was The Little Mermaid: Write about Merfolk. It was also written for the Challenge Versatility Challenge: Write a canon-compliant story. I absolutely love the Disney version (not so much the original, sad version) and therefore couldn't resist doing this story. I hope you like it!**_

 _ **Optional prompts:**_

 _ **Dialogue: "We were always meant to fall apart."**_

 _ **Picture: (1) Of the woman and her two sea monsters, ruling the waves.**_

 _ **Word count: 3446 words**_

* * *

 **Part One**

"Kelpie! Avalon! Come away from those reeds!" Araxie called to her two Grindylows.

They came swimming towards her, each competing against the other to see who would get to their mistress first. Once or twice, Kelpie would turn to Avalon and try to rake her green skin with his long claws, only to be whipped in the face by the latter's tentacles. Smiling, Araxie swam backwards, coaxing her pets further towards the safety of the cave she called home. She loved how they would obey her and stick by her side. They were more than just protection; they were company.

Unfortunately, her father didn't seem to agree, announcing his presence with a bellow, "Araxie!" Spinning around, the young Mermaid turned to meet his frustrated gaze. "Araxie, how many times have I told you? The Grindylows aren't toys. I need them for the challenge today, and I can't have you wearing them out."

"Yes, father." Araxie blinked at him, softening her golden eyes in a way she knew her father couldn't resist. She was his princess and could never remain angry for too long.

As she predicted, Trenton sighed, breathing out a few bubbles as he looked at her. She gave him a smile, revealing her beautifully maintained, sharp teeth. Shaking his head, he looked up through the murky water towards the surface, seeing the barest hints of sunlight. Araxie didn't know how he could tell, but her father always seemed to use that method to tell the time.

"Alright," he relented, moving to stroke Avalon on her green head. The Grindylow bobbed upwards, embracing his touch. "Why don't you be a good girl and help with the students coming down? There'll be here any minute and the guards may need some assistance tying them to the floor."

Araxie nodded. Placing a quick kiss on her father's grey cheek and waving to her pets, she headed off to the outskirts of the village. Sure enough, when she reached the small embankment where the tournament would take place, several Merpeople were frantically moving about, trying to figure out how to attach the four young humans to the ground.

"Use the statues," she said, coming to her friend, Kai.

The Merman winked at her, and she found her heart give a little jolt. Out of all the Mermen she knew, he was the most handsome and sought after. Not only was his tail well-maintained with fish oil, his fingers were the most webbed and his voice the most enchanting. He was probably distantly related to a Siren somewhere along the line, for he could certainly draw her in when he sung. Best of all, he listened to her.

Gripping the seaweed nearest him, he pushed himself down to the tail of one of the stone statues guarding their village and knotted it around. Then, signalling to her to take hold of one of the humans, he tied the other end to its foot.

"Funny creatures, aren't they?" Araxie asked, inspecting the human's face. It was really too pale, with two, funny-looking pieces of hair above its eyebrows. The human's long hair was an awful shade of brown, and Araxie found herself subconsciously brushing through her own, luscious green locks. Thank Neptune she was a Mermaid.

Kai tilted his head, surveying it. "I dunno, if you maybe inked the hair it wouldn't be so bad."

Araxie laughed, nudging Kai. "Ugh, as if. I bet they shriek instead of sing."

Kai rolled his yellow eyes but smiled. Tugging on her arm as a horn sounded in the distance, he led her away so they could watch the game. She happily complied, revelling in his slimy touch. _There was nothing more perfect than a Merman_ — _how could anyone ever fall in love with a human?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

"Look, over there! I see another one!" Aquila screamed excitedly, pointing to a shadow moving towards them.

"Oh look, it's got a funny bubble on its head. How strange," Tyne muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

Shushing her friends, Araxie swam silently behind a large stream of seaweed. Pulling back the green curtains, she could see a figure steadily approaching them, noticing that a large bubble was indeed around the creature's head. As it passed, she saw it had strange, brown eyes. What was with these humans and the colour brown? On closer inspection, she could tell it was a male, given the short hair and rather large flipper feet; in her opinion, he looked even uglier than the female she had tied up earlier.

"At least the first one grew gills," Aquila said, pushing Tyne out of the way so that she could get a better view.

Araxie had missed seeing the first human that had passed, Kai distracting her with the newest song he had come up with. She hadn't cared at the time, yet her friends wouldn't stop bringing up the creature's bright green eyes or webbed feet. They almost made it seem like one of them, except for the fact that its skin was not perfect—really, who would go around wearing a lightning bolt on their forehead? Strange, strange creatures.

The curiosity was getting to her, however, and she itched to swim closer to where the humans were tied up, just so she could see for herself.

"That's true," Tyne agreed. With the human swimming away, she had lost interest and was now staring at her nails.

"Is it bad that I'm sort of jealous of its hands? I mean, I've never been able to get mine that wide," Aquila continued, staring at her webbed-hands.

Tyne simply rolled her eyes, and Jai stared at her with a look that could only say, 'Are you kidding?'

Araxie, however, ignored her. Using her tail to surge forwards, she swam off towards the statues. She simply couldn't stand it anymore; she just had to see what the other human looked like. Gills? Webbed hands? What game was it playing?

She could hear her friends calling to her, the water stirring as they followed, telling her that she wasn't allowed to go, but she continued onwards. They could come if they wanted, or they could stay behind; she didn't care. She pushed the water apart as she went, moving as fast as possible. Finally, she could hear voices being raised, and knew she wasn't too late to see the human.

Settling behind a rock, she turned and ushered her friends to do the same. Of course they had followed; curiosity was just as much a fault of theirs as it was of hers. Confident that they wouldn't give away her position, she peered around the large, grey rock. Her eyes widened in surprise as she spotted the human her friends had mentioned, its hands pointing in all directions as it tried to understand her father's melodic voice.

"Only take one. One, this one," Her father said, pointing to the human with red hair with his triton.

The human shook its head, turning it from left to right to see if it could spot some help. The other human with icky brown eyes had come and gone, its female partner no longer tied to a statue. It didn't surprise Araxie too much, for they could take their partners as soon as they reached them. What did surprise her, however, was the way her heart thrashed against her chest as she saw the human's brilliant green eyes when he turned in her direction.

Gasping, she withdrew behind the rock, running a hand through her hair. His eyes were the same, beautiful colour; not brown, not blue, but green. Sea-green. They were stunning. Blinking rapidly, she peered back around the rock to study him some more. It was definitely a male, if his large, webbed feet or short hair were any indication. And how they were webbed! She didn't think she had seen any skin as stretched as his were; in comparison, they made Kai's fingers and toes look separated, like a human's or Centaur's. Her heart continued thumping violently, and she had to shake her head to come back to her senses.

Bad Araxie, terrible Araxie. How embarrassing, fawning over a human like that. What would her friends say?

Glancing over at the other rocks, she saw that her friends were also admiring the human, in a way. Their eyes were trained watchfully as the boy argued with her father and continued tugging at the seaweed to free them. Little bubbles were emitted from the gills at his throat, and it made her giggle just a little. Only a little, though; she began to feel a little worried by the way her father was glaring at him, triton pressed against his chest. What a brave, stupid human.

Her father wouldn't hurt him, would he? The human looked to be only her age, after all—one hundred and forty was way too young to be killed. No, her father wasn't like that.

Still, Araxie's eyes widened as her father called for backup to push the human away. They dutifully swam towards him, tritons bared. She gripped the stone with her hands, biting her lip as the boy took out a stick and tried to fight them off. No, don't, that won't work.

Looking to her friends for help, she saw that they were grinning. Kai, in particular, wore a smirk as he watched the fight continue, his hand curled into a fist and pumping through the water as he mimicked the guards thrusting their tritons. Couldn't he see that the gorg—the human, was about to get seriously hurt?

Just as she decided to plead with him to stop and help her, Aquila screamed. Her father and the guards turned to the noise, frowning, before their eyes grew wide. Dropping their tritons, they ducked behind the nearest rocks. Aquila and Tyne took off for the village, tailed closely by a shaking Kai. So much for their bravery. Curling up, she sank to the bottom of the lake floor, watching as a shark-headed human tore through the water. Its teeth were sharper than any Merperson could hope to have, yet it legs kicked behind it, dulling the overall effect. Really? Everyone was terrified of that?

Pushing herself back up, she watched from behind the rock as the shark-boy ripped through the bottom of the seaweed that held the brown-haired human, and took it in his arms to the surface. When she was sure he was gone, she moved further out, watching in awe as the green-eyed human remained in the open. He didn't in the least bit seem concerned by the appearance of a shark, or rather, semi-shark, and still wore a determined expression on his face. Wow. Seizing his chance, he used his stick to shoot red light at the seaweed of the two other humans, severing their ties with the lake's bottom. Then, using both hands, he hugged their waists and began to kick his way to the surface.

Her father soon appeared, recovering from the shock. Roaring a command for the guards to return, the human's spells stirring the already murky surface, he tried to grip onto the boy's legs. The boy kicked, releasing the other humans as they grew conscious. Then, with another kick, her father stirring up more dirt from the lake's bottom with his tail, the boy freed himself.

Araxie waited breathlessly, watching as her father yelled at the guards in frustration. Placing his fingers between his lips, he whistled. "Kelpie, Avalon, after him!"

Her two Grindylows sprung up from a clump of seaweed, accompanied by a few others. Their claws flexed as they surged upwards, swimming after the boy.

Araxie looked around, her heart thumping painfully. Her pets would surely rip the boy apart, if her father didn't get to him first. Oh, what a disaster! There was nothing she could do, though; if she swam to the boy, her father, or one of the other guards, would surely see her. Unless…

Hoping she would not regret this, Araxie dived to the bottom of the lake, flipping over so that she was on her back. Pointing her tail downwards, she began to swish it around, stirring the mud and sand. Faster, and the dirty sand began to rise, forming a murky cloud. Chewing her lip and closing her eyes, she urged her tail muscles to move faster than they ever had. Around and around it went. When she eventually did re-open her eyes, she was pleased to see—or rather, not see—that the water had become too dark for her father and the guards to see past their arms. It would probably clear soon, but not before she was able to save the boy unseen.

Rising upwards, she swam to where the water was slightly clearer, aiming for the surface. He should be there...somewhere. Pausing near the top, she used her hands to feel the water. It was smooth in parts, yet, not a meter away, something was stirring it. Moving in that direction, she came across her Grindylows, gasping as she saw them digging their claws into the boy's legs.

"Kelpie! Avalon!"

Her pets ignored her, trying to grip any part of the human's skin that they could reach. The boy was struggling, legs kicking out at every direction. Araxie stared at them, confused. They were no longer webbed, the ends of them looking like tiny little white knobs. Trailing her eyes up his thrashing body, she saw that the boy's eyes were wide with panic, his hands clutching his gill-less throat. If it wasn't for their green colour, or the scar beneath his mop of black hair, she would've thought it was a different human.

Shaking her head, she came back to the mission at heart. Webbed or not, this human was going to drown if she didn't do something soon.

Gulping in a breath of water, she tried again for her pet's attention. "Avalon...Kelpie…oh won't you come to me?" she sang.

Thankfully, the Grindylows turned their heads to her, tentacles wagging. Forgetting their prey, they swam to her, once more competing to see who could reach her first.

Patting them, she looked to the surface of the lake, relieved to see that it had been broken by the human. He was saved.

It was a pity she couldn't say the same for herself, however; turning back, she came face to face with her father's glowering, yellow eyes.

 _She had been caught saving a human_ — _a brave, foolish human._


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

"Please, Father, he was only trying to save his friends."

"You weren't supposed to be there."

"I was worried about my Grindylows," Araxie tried, sitting on the rock edge of her bed. Her father paced her room, hands clasped behind his back and tail swishing angrily. She had tried batting her eyelashes at him, but he wasn't having any of it.

"You could've been hurt," he repeated for the seventeenth time, eyes blazing. "What were you thinking? And don't bother with the Grindylow excuse, I will not buy it!"

Araxie sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. Her father simply would not listen to her. Had he not escorted her to her room himself, he would have been up above the surface, demanding that the green-eyed human be brought back down to him for justice. No human could be as rude and disrespectful as he was and get away with it.

"He was only trying to save his friends. I would've done the same as he did," Araxie tried again, pouting.

Trenton turned around, placing the full power of his glare upon her. She shuffled back a little, cowed by the storm in his eyes. "Did you save him because you love—" Shaking his head, he didn't finish the sentence.

Araxie gasped, shaking her head. She would never betray her family, her race to fall for a human. She had only admired his bravery, that was all… wasn't it? Tears pricked the corner of her eyes and she blinked them away.

Looking at her father with determination, she said, "No, Daddy, please, I would never—"

"I need to speak to the Headmaster."

Turning his back to her, her father swam towards her door. What a mess. A tear slid down her face, making it halfway down her cheek before vanishing in the water around her. Did humans cry? What happened to their tears? Squeezing them shut, she shook her head and stood up. She would never know if her father severed ties with the race.

Swimming forward, she gripped her father's arm, forcing him to turn around.

"Please, Father, please don't go there," she begged, locking her eyes onto his. Swallowing, she continued with the only strategy she had left, "What would you have done if I was tied there? He didn't know it those humans weren't in actual danger… If I was stuck up there on land, would you allow someone else to leave me there? Or would you want someone to rescue me?"

Her father blinked, the storm softening. In a strained voice, he replied, "I must go."

Araxie allowed her father to pull his arm away, sinking back into the sand. What had she done?

Bringing her tail up to her chin, she allowed more tears to disappear into the water. Why did she care, anyway? It was just a human. A stupid, unpredictable, disrespectful human. She could never be with him, even if she actually wanted to. Which she didn't. The gills were fake, the webbed feet were fake, and if she were to really get to know him, she would probably come to see that his bravery was fake. No, she didn't like him.

Blowing out a few bubbles, she waited for a few minutes before getting up. She may as well go and see the extent of the damage, or at the very least try and apologise to the human for not helping in the least with her father's temper.

Kai met her as she swam out, his face pulled up in a sheepish smile. "Uh, sorry I bailed on you," he said, taking her webbed hand in his.

Funny, her heart didn't erupt like it usually did at his touch. Perhaps she was tired. With a shrug, she followed him up the rest of the way, aiming for a break in the waves away from her father.

As they broke the surface, her eyes burned from the sound of cheering. Looking around, hands pressed over her small ears, she saw thousands of Wizards and Witches sitting on benches. They were waving pieces of material on sticks, mouths opening to create the horrendous sound. A few of them blew large, golden horns, only resulting in a bigger noise.

Kai tapped her shoulder, motioning that he was going to go back under. She nodded, planning on doing the same, when she clapped eyes on the green-eyed boy. He was surrounded by a few other humans who rubbed his shoulders. He was smiling; odd for someone who was to be taken prisoner in a lake.

Looking over, hands still covering her ears, she saw her father watching her. He dipped his head, a small smile on his thin lips. He had changed his mind and the boy was safe—at least for now. Beside him, a tall human with piercing blue eyes and a long, white piece of hair dangling from his chin waved at her, confirming her thoughts.

Smiling back at him, she turned back to the boy. He was too far away to speak with, not that that mattered. It was a miracle in itself that any of them had understood her clue to come to the lake in the first place. Still, her cheeks flushed at the thought of the boy hearing her song, and she found herself hoping that she sounded somewhat decent. If only he would look her way, she might give him a wave.

The boy was looking around, apparently shocked that he was still alive. The brown-haired human was with him, and as Araxie watched, her smile faltering, it bent down and wrapped the boy in a tight embrace.

It was time to go. Feeling like she was carrying a stone in her stomach, she sunk back down into the safety of the lake. Kai swam to her, pulling faces at the strange ruckus the humans were making, but she didn't see him.

"We were meant to fall apart," she whispered.

"What?" Kai asked, clutching her hand.

Shaking her head, Araxie smiled. "Nothing," she said, squeezing his hand back. The human was safe, and she had Kai.

 _She would never fall in love with a human, for Mermaids and humans were only meant to fall apart._


End file.
